93 percent of Ohio State student tickets sold as Miami looms

The 2012 season is bringing many changes to the Ohio State football program on the field and the sidelines, but the one that might affect students most deals with who will be filling the seats. When students ordered season tickets last year, there was one option that included the five home games for which students were on campus for $150. Students were also able to purchase single-game tickets for games scheduled before classes started. This year the package consisting of tickets for all eight home games cost $272. Students who bought tickets in Block “O”, the student cheering section, paid $292 for the full-season package. The Big Ten package, which includes the four games against other Big Ten schools, cost $136 for regular student seating, and seats in Block “O” cost $156 for the season. The Block “O” ticket price includes a $20 Block “O” membership fee, along with an additional nonrefundable service charge of $8 for Big Ten games or $16 for the whole season packages, for both Block “O” and regular student packages. For the 2012 football season, students had to choose between buying tickets for all home games in the Ohio Stadium or just the home games against Big Ten opponents. Brett Scarbrough, assistant athletic director, said in an email that ticket sales between the two packages were similar. “The final student ticket sales figures for 2012 were 14,535 of 15,556 available (93 percent) for the full-ticket season and 11,522 of 12,777 (90 percent) for the Big Ten conference season tickets,” Scarbrough said in an email.Scarbrough said the season ticket package change was to accommodate new semester schedules. “The main change upon switching to semester(s) was that students would be on campus for the entirety of the football season,” Scarbrough said in an email. Students who picked the Big Ten package do not have a home game ticket until Oct. 6, while those who bought the full package have tickets for the first four games starting Sept. 1 in addition to those in October and later. Danielle Lumbatis, a second-year in health information management and systems, said she enjoys having two options. “I’m not a huge football fan, so I liked that I had the option to pick a smaller package,” Lumbatis said. Kristen Foos, a second-year in English, said she believes the prices are still reasonable and they didn’t affect her decision to buy tickets. She bought the package with every home game. “I just really like going to the games and think they are a lot of fun, so I’m excited,” Foos said. Matt Farley, a fifth-year in biomedical engineering, said he wouldn’t miss one home game of coach Urban Meyer’s first season in Buckeye Nation. “I chose the whole package because I wanted to be at all the games to see how the coaching staff does,” he said. “I would never miss a game that I had an opportunity to go to.” Some students opted not to purchase tickets this year because of program penalties. “There was no chance in going to a bowl game, so there wasn’t a point in buying them,” said Julio Garcia, a fourth-year in psychology. Garcia said the increased price would have been a factor in his decision to buy the tickets, even with the extra games added. “I’d rather get my money’s worth instead of seeing a blowout,” he said.